One Headlight

goonarmy

tykesi wrote: »

It's because they're idiots. They're the same people who never check oil levels, tyre pressures, fluid levels etc... The only upside is that they're quite obvious to spot so it's easy to give them a wide berth!!

I have noticed this year more and more people are forgetting to switch their lights on at all, I've given up trying to warn them as they are oblivious to ANYTHING on the road that's not two feet in front of their bumper. :mad:

It also worries me that they cannot see their speeedo and dash cos they havent put their lights on. Must be an insurance industry cop out"how fast were you travelling?"
"Dunno couldnt see"
"we aint paying BYEEEEEEEEE!"

Lum

timbotambo wrote: »

Nobody can beat this level of tw@tishness I saw the other day:

- Only one headlamp working
- The working headlamp was only on half (Assume the dipped bulb had blow)
- Foglamps on
- Yet one foglamp was out

Some of the fancy German cars have a thing where if they detect a headlight has blown they will light the foglight on the opposite side.

It is a bit safer that way as at least an oncoming car won't mistake you for a much narrower motorbike and then crash into your blown headlight.

Horizon81 wrote: »

Are you sure it wasn't a VAG car going round a corner or indicating? Great way of making most people think your flashy new car has a broken fog light.

I love how VAG are touting that as a wonderful new feature when Nissan had it in 1988, using a dedicated light too! Subaru also did it in the 90s using a stop/tail bulb where the sidelight would normally be.

BeenThroughItAll

Steve059 wrote: »

Especially in town, with street lighting, it can take a while to notice the difference.

If I were a traffic policeman, (remember them?) this would be all I needed to to pull a vehicle over - if they're not checking their lights regularly (I check mine at least weekly and always check against the wall I park against whichever end of the car is close) what else aren't they doing? Hiding their weapons? Keeping their drugs stash in the glovebox?

Being in town isn't an excuse for not performing your routine checks. Wasn't it POWER they used to teach for your driving test? (Petrol, Oil, Water, Electric lights, Rubber; IIRC).

sinbad182

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

If I were a traffic policeman, (remember them?) this would be all I needed to to pull a vehicle over - if they're not checking their lights regularly (I check mine at least weekly and always check against the wall I park against whichever end of the car is close) what else aren't they doing? Hiding their weapons? Keeping their drugs stash in the glovebox?

Being in town isn't an excuse for not performing your routine checks. Wasn't it POWER they used to teach for your driving test? (Petrol, Oil, Water, Electric lights, Rubber; IIRC).

This place has to be the most incredible place on the Internet for the regular ott reactions to innocuous transgressions :rotfl:

tykesi

goonarmy wrote: »

It also worries me that they cannot see their speeedo and dash cos they havent put their lights on. Must be an insurance industry cop out"how fast were you travelling?"
"Dunno couldnt see"
"we aint paying BYEEEEEEEEE!"

I actually think the dashboards are the issue in the newer cars. My dashboard is lit up like a Christmas tree (Civic MK8) whether I've got my lights on or not and I suspect a lot of cars are the same. The only indication to me that my lights are on is the usual small green light but in my car, unless I have the steering wheel at it's lowest position this is obscured. Twice in the past week I have pulled up to a car at traffic lights and told the driver they haven't got their lights on, both laughed :eek: and only one thanked me.

It's the old 'I'm alright, Jack' attitude at play, so long as they're ok in their little bubble of ignorance nothing and nobody else matters. Scary!

While I'm ranting - I've noticed recently a lot of people who don't unfold their wing mirrors after tucking them away whilst parked. When I'm on my motorbike I often rely on people looking in these to see me. I've lost count of the times I'ge knocked on drivers' windows and pointed it out or even unfolded the mirror myself. Again - if it's not happening directly in front of their bonnet, they don't care.:mad:

Jamie_Carter

goonarmy wrote: »

It also worries me that they cannot see their speeedo and dash cos they havent put their lights on. Must be an insurance industry cop out"how fast were you travelling?"
"Dunno couldnt see"
"we aint paying BYEEEEEEEEE!"

With many modern cars the instruments still light up without the lights being switched on. This is probably a factor that has made the situation worse, as people can see their instruments, and so don't notice that they don't have their light on.


Then there are cars with automatic headlights. They only come on in low light, and don't come on in low visibility caused by fog, snow, or rain. In these situations you have to switch to manual.

Lum

Jamie_Carter wrote: »

Then there are cars with automatic headlights. They only come on in low light, and don't come on in low visibility caused by fog, snow, or rain. In these situations you have to switch to manual cause a massive pileup on the A429 bridge when someone drives into the back of you.

Edited your post to reflect what actually happens.

(As an aside, I hate these new silly bright streetlights with no diffusers as they cause my automatic headlights to turn off momentarily when the light is directly above the light sensor.)

RichardD1970

Jamie_Carter wrote: »

With many modern cars the instruments still light up without the lights being switched on. This is probably a factor that has made the situation worse, as people can see their instruments, and so don't notice that they don't have their light on.

That happened to me the other day.

So where do I line up for the firing squad? :eek:

The dash is all digital so always lit, someone flashed me and I immediately realised, rectified the problem and thanked them

BeenThroughItAll

sinbad182 wrote: »

This place has to be the most incredible place on the Internet for the regular ott reactions to innocuous transgressions :rotfl:

Talk about missing the point.

I was simply trying to get across that not bothering with 'innocuous' matters like ensuring one's vehicle is roadworthy and legal is a laziness which almost certainly pervades other areas of the transgressor's life.

How about something a little more realistic to appease your ire?

If someone can't be bothered with a simple check of their lights, what else is wrong with their vehicle? Brakes? Windscreen wipers? Horn? Are their tyres bald?

I for one would pull over every lazy !!!!!! with one broken headlamp and subject their car to an impromptu MOT test with immediate prohibition of use for any faults if I were in charge of things. Even if the car was otherwise in perfect condition, the hour long delay would teach them a simple lesson.

Steve059

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

If I were a traffic policeman, (remember them?) this would be all I needed to to pull a vehicle over - if they're not checking their lights regularly (I check mine at least weekly and always check against the wall I park against whichever end of the car is close) what else aren't they doing? Hiding their weapons? Keeping their drugs stash in the glovebox?

Being in town isn't an excuse for not performing your routine checks. Wasn't it POWER they used to teach for your driving test? (Petrol, Oil, Water, Electric lights, Rubber; IIRC).

I couldn't agree more. Strictly speaking, you should check these things before every journey. Meanwhile, back in the real world ...

It's just that, the last time one of my headlights failed, it was under street lights and it did take even me a little while to realise that the light pattern didn't look right. My records show that this was back in September, so it's possible that I didn't need my headlights on when parked facing a wall, but switched them on whilst in motion.